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Environmental Health

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User Generated

Subject

Environmental Science

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Grand Canyon University

Course

Bio 100

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Homework

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Discuss why environmental health is a global issue. Do you think most Americans understand the term

environmental health? Why or why not?

According to the World Health Organization, health is defined as “a state of complete physical,

mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” and as “the extent to

which an individual or a group is able, on the one hand, to realize aspirations and to satisfy needs, and on

the other to change or cope with the environment”. Since the growth of global industrial societies, the

risk of health hazards both to humans and the environment increases exponentially. With the degradation

of natural resources and an alarming increase in environmental pollution caused by continued illegal

mining, deforestation, global warming, and greenhouse gases to name a few would prove that these

actions would eventually lead to detrimental repercussions on health.

In 2006, the World Health Organization reported that around 24% of the world’s diseases are due

to harmful effects on the environment as a result of dreadful ecological conditions that could have been

prevented. Continued deforestation and mining create a problem for the wildlife that in turn gains access

to urban areas and possibly leading to a zoonotic infection from pathogens brought about by these

organisms that lost their habitat. Air and water pollution caused by industrial wastes also affect health

on a large scale. It may cause neoplastic changes in our body due to these carcinogenic fumes and wastes,

destruction of marine wildlife tipping off the balance of the marine ecological system. Social and cultural

hazards also affect one’s health through his/her beliefs, behavioral choices, occupation, and

socioeconomic status. Amelioration of such multi-factorial hazards will bring about improvements in all

aspects of human health. A healthy population is a key ingredient for economic/nation development to

ensue. With these, we can see that Environmental health is holistic and has many aspects to it thus making

it a global issue. Environmental health plays a big role in maintaining equilibrium not only in the diverse

ecosystem but also to sustain stability in our world.

I would say that majority of Americans today understands and applies their knowledge of

Environmental health as evidenced by different environmental laws that drastically improve health, one

of which is the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1944 which focuses on providing a means to supply safe drinking

water to each household; proper food management which accounts for processing, packaging, storage,

and transport for food products to ensure that it is safe for human consumption; improvement in waste

management system thru recycling, waste segregation, composting, etc.; the use of solar-powered

vehicles as an alternative mode of transportation to lessen air pollution and many more. In light of today’s

society where social media imparts a big influence on our daily lives, environmental advocacies can be

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Discuss why environmental health is a global issue. Do you think most Americans understand the term environmental health? Why or why not? According to the World Health Organization, health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” and as “the extent to which an individual or a group is able, on the one hand, to realize aspirations and to satisfy needs, and on the other to change or cope with the environment”. Since the growth of global industrial societies, the risk of health hazards both to humans and ...
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Tags: health and medical global issues environmental health